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Should I spay my dog?

She is 15 months old, just finished her first heat cycle yesterday. I bought her on limited registration last summer. One vet I talked to today said she won't lose any drive if I spay her, another said she will lose a little bit of drive. Both vets said the health benefits of spaying now far outweigh the negatives. I have been reading around on here and thought I read about some bad side effects of spaying, that might have only applied to spaying too early though. We are signed up for some Junior tests in a couple weeks and I plan to compete for her SH title in the spring. I don't think I want to breed her since she is on limited registration. What do yall think?

You've done the right thing waiting till after her first heat. There are risks and benefits to spaying and leaving intact. If she was sold to you on Limited registration, she wasn't meant to be bred by the breeder. Could be their preference, but there are sometimes more complex reasons breeders sell with Limited registration. Get in touch with the breeder and see if they would consider lifting Limited if you title her and do health clearances, if you want to breed her. But do your homework first; know what clearances to get an how to get them done. Asking for them to mentor you if you've never bred a dog is also a good idea. Breeding, whelping, and properly raising puppies isn't easy or cheap.

If you have no intention of breeding or jumping thru all the hoops involved, spay! She will NOT lose drive and in fact, will likely have more than those of ours who are intact and distracted 2x a year!

Hormones play a pivotal role in some females. Spay if you have no desire to raise pups. Raising pups is a tremendous commitment. In your situation, the reward of pups does not seem to justify the commitment. Best of luck.

She is 15 months old, just finished her first heat cycle yesterday. I bought her on limited registration last summer. One vet I talked to today said she won't lose any drive if I spay her, another said she will lose a little bit of drive. Both vets said the health benefits of spaying now far outweigh the negatives. I have been reading around on here and thought I read about some bad side effects of spaying, that might have only applied to spaying too early though. We are signed up for some Junior tests in a couple weeks and I plan to compete for her SH title in the spring. I don't think I want to breed her since she is on limited registration. What do yall think?

I lost two great labs because I didn't spade them. They both developed cancer. Too bad i can't turn back time. Decision I make at the time and the bed I am sleeping in.

Just had a client lose a 7 year old setter that he did not spay . Unfortunately she died in my care, of a closed pyometra. ( a starnge one , she was here to be bred , in season , prog rising but bleeding alot. Did CBC and clotting tests, twice normal. Did a necropsy and she had a tumor like infection and her uterus twisted.... Found her dead in the kennel NOT nice)
If you don't plan on breeding , and most should not , SPAY. Making the phone call to an owner that their dog is dead is the worst!!

Hmm I just look at it with the question if I spay, will I regret it later. You can lift the limited so that's not a stopping point. There's no really hurry, still she's a golden rt.? 15mt she seems to be doing well on SH work, what if in a year she's doing well on MH work, what if you choose to go further? You could do worst than choosing to breed a female golden that has hunting talent. Will you regret in a year or so that you can't have a pup out of your own girl? Will you regret in 5-6 years when your looking for your next pup and perhaps cannot find anything akin to what you already got? Me I usually wait until OFA at 2 yrs. to decided, unless there's something about the dog, that I wouldn't want to see in the next generation. Of course with a golden, and cancer there might be other considerations. Spaying is a very personal choice, but even if I never breed a particular dog, I lprefer to keep my options open.

Last edited by Hunt'EmUp; 09-27-2013 at 02:09 PM.

"They's Just DAWGS"; "I train dogs, Not papers"
"Hunting is a skill to be learned whether you do it early or late it still needs to be learned"